ANP & PPP interned in to election alliance for the upcoming byelections

Peshawar: Awami National Party ANP and Pakistan Peoples’ Party PPP in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa interned in to an election alliance for the upcoming byelections to be held on August 22 across the country.

Addressing a joint news conference on Monday here at press club, ANP senior leader Ghulam Ahmad Bilour, former provincial information Mian Iftikhar, Tajud Din Khan and PPP former provincial senior minister Rahim Dad Khan, Zulfiqar Afghani and Tahir Abbas said that both the parties were agreed to jointly vote and support candidates taking part in the byelections.

In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa PPP will surrender its candidates, and support ANP candidates at two national and one provincial assembly seats, they said and added elections campaign in the byelections would also be carried out.

PPP leader and former senior minister Rahim Dad said that PPP and ANP jointly served the masses during its last five years in government in center and in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province as well. “With the alliances of the different political parties, masses can better be served, while it wasn’t possible to take part in elections independently and making its own governments, he maintained.

He further said that in Presidential elections ANP supported the stance of PPP and followed the decision of boycott, which was praiseworthy.

Mr Rahim Dad also said that PPP and ANP will make alliance for the upcoming Local Bodies elections at union council, tehsil and district level, for which a formal committee will soon be constituted. In future, to take part in any elections, PPP and ANP would devise a joint strategy and would follow an alliance, he said.

On the occasion, strongly criticizing presidential elections PPP leader Zulfiqar Afghani said that the decision was unilateral and unconstitutional. He added the apex court didn’t hear the view of other parties and proved following the directions of the incumbent government. The apex court revealed its biasness before the masses, he alleged.

Besides, ANP senior leader and candidate on NA1 in the byelections, Ghulam Bilour said that his party and PPP in past did hold joint moments and had been imprisoned for the sake of democracy.

“We rendered numerous sacrifices for the sake of masses, he said and vowed not to deter before any unconstitutional move.

He was quite optimistic about success in the upcoming byelections, and pledged to serve the masses after coming into power. He also said that alas ANP and PPP were entered into election alliance, now this situations would never were come. Mr Bilour also said that they were ready for accountability any time.

Mian Iftikhar said that ANP unconditionally supported the stance of PPP to boycott presidential elections. We are in contact with JUIF to convince them on boycott from presidential elections and are hope full to support us in center and in provinces, he added.